There are two ways to connect your computer, with a wire and using radio beams (wirelessly).
Wired
Nearly every office, dorm room, and classroom has one or two ports that receive one end of a network cable. The other end of that cable can be stuck into a computer or "network appliance" such as a wireless base station. Though they tether you to the spot, wired connections are both faster and more reliable that wireless connections. If a wired port is available, you are far better off using it.
Wireless
Wireless, while slower and less reliable, is the only game in town in wide open spaces like the library or the 23-cafe or for a whole classroom full of people. Wireless connections slow down when many people in the same area attach to the same wireless base station. Also, we've battled general problems -- dropped connections, for example -- with our wireless base stations. We hope recent equipment upgrades and programming changes will solve some of those problems.
Wired
Nearly every office, dorm room, and classroom has one or two ports that receive one end of a network cable. The other end of that cable can be stuck into a computer or "network appliance" such as a wireless base station. Though they tether you to the spot, wired connections are both faster and more reliable that wireless connections. If a wired port is available, you are far better off using it.
Wireless
Wireless, while slower and less reliable, is the only game in town in wide open spaces like the library or the 23-cafe or for a whole classroom full of people. Wireless connections slow down when many people in the same area attach to the same wireless base station. Also, we've battled general problems -- dropped connections, for example -- with our wireless base stations. We hope recent equipment upgrades and programming changes will solve some of those problems.